It would take her several days to hike out, since she couldn’t go back to Fred’s car. Leaving the campsite in the opposite direction, she hiked toward Yosemite. She had acquired a wilderness permit that authorized her to travel the Pacific Crest Trail. If the police questioned her about Fred’s disappearance, her alibi would be a weekend backpacking trip. Her truck waited for her at Hetch Hetchy, about thirty miles south of here.
The sun, low on the horizon, glowed orange through the dirty atmosphere created by the Central Valley’s pollution. Karina picked up her pace. She wanted to get inside the park’s borders and find a good camping spot before nightfall. She figured she could make it to Yosemite within the hour, ample time to set up her tent before the last of the light faded from the sky.
Just before full dark she came across some other backpackers. Two tents were pitched nearby, snores coming from one, sexual moans from the other. Good. She would camp here and have witnesses to her whereabouts. She quietly set up her tent and lay out her sleeping bag inside. She changed into sweat shorts and a T-shirt and crawled into bed. She slept soundly, dreaming of flying over the beach with seagulls.
*
*
*
When Karina awoke the next morning she lay in her sleeping bag, staring up at the trees through the mesh ceiling of her tent, feeling more relaxed than she had in years. She hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before, and her stomach complained loudly as the scent of coffee wafted past. She changed into a tank top and khaki pants and crawled out of the tent. Joining the group at the campfire, she introduced herself and offered to share her bacon with them. Their eyes lit up, since bacon was a rare treat on a backpacking trip. Even with care in its packing it wouldn’t last long, so it had to be eaten within a couple of days of beginning a trip.
It was obvious to Karina from her fellow backpackers’ stench that they had been on the trail for at least a week. The two couples reeked of stale sex and body odor. Whenever Karina went backpacking with friends, her sense of smell adjusted to their bad body odors, so she knew that the backpackers weren’t as offensive to each other as they were to her. But she needed people to see her, to witness where she was, just in case she needed an alibi. So she smiled and talked to and fed the strangers.
“So, what are your names?” she asked around a mouthful of oatmeal.
“Melissa,” one of the girls answered.
“Sarah,” mumbled the other one. Karina looked questioningly at the two boys.
“This is my boyfriend Matt,” Melissa volunteered when neither of the boys answered, gesturing to one. “And he’s John, Sarah’s boyfriend,” she continued, pointing to the other. The boys grunted their hellos and continued devouring the bacon. “So how long have you been out here?” Melissa inquired.
“A couple of days,” Karina lied. If she told them it had been barely one, they would know she didn’t get here from inside the park. She needed them to believe she had hiked in from one of Yosemite’s trailheads.
“We’ve been hiking for eight days now. We’re heading north into the Emigrant Wilderness,” Melissa informed her, eyebrows raised hopefully.
Karina shrugged apologetically, guessing that Melissa wanted her to join them and feigning disappointment that she was headed in the opposite direction. “I’m heading back to Hetch Hetchy. I only have time for a weekend trip.”
“Ah, well.” Melissa helped herself to the last strip of bacon before one of the boys could grab it and munched on it contentedly, staring thoughtfully into the dying fire. The conversation trailed off, and during the pause Karina noticed that Sarah avoided eye contact, looking away every time Karina looked over. Sarah’s bangs were in her eyes, her head tilted down. Karina supposed she was shy around strangers.
“We’re going to spend the rest of the day at a lake about half a mile from here,” Melissa continued as if there had been no break in the conversation, “if you like, you’re welcome to join us.”
Karina didn’t want to spend any more time than she had to with these people, but she didn’t want to appear to be in a hurry. “Sure, I can hang out for a few hours. My next campsite is about ten miles from here; I can still make it there before dark if I leave by one.”
Melissa seemed thrilled at the prospect of an addition to their party, even if only for a little while. Karina could see why. Sarah was quiet and withdrawn, and the boys were only interested in joking and talking to each other. They had been carrying on a conversation about farts the entire time Melissa and Karina had been talking.
Karina excused herself and returned to her tent to begin packing. She would leave right from the lake and wanted to have everything ready. She took her time in taking down the tent, brushing off the dirt with each fold she made. She wasn’t anxious to return to the group.
By the time her pack was ready and the tent and sleeping bag tied to its frame, she noticed sounds of discord coming from the others. She walked back to the fire pit where Melissa was cleaning up after morning breakfast, deliberately ignoring the argument going on between Sarah and John. Matt was nowhere to be seen. The dispute escalated when John backhanded Sarah. Sarah fell to the ground with the force of the blow, landing next to the smoldering fire pit.
“Hey!” Karina’s cry caught John’s attention and he guiltily stepped away from Sarah. Sarah looked up, her cheek red where she had just been struck, and her hair fell away from her face, revealing a recently bruised eye. Karina felt a surge of rage. She leapt onto John, pummeling him with her fists. He fell back, surprised by the sudden attack. Before he could recover and return the blows, Matt emerged from the woods.
When Matt saw what was happening, he ran to Karina and pulled her off John. “What’s going on here?” he demanded. He looked around, taking in Sarah’s bruised eye and reddened check, Melissa’s studious disregard for the events occurring around her, and John’s hands clenched into fists. He sighed in exasperation. “John, you promised you wouldn’t hit Sarah anymore.”
“It’s her fault!” John exclaimed. “She made me hit her! She wouldn’t clean up the mess in our tent.”
Sarah stood up and brushed off the ashes. “I only said that since we’re camping here another night, it isn’t necessary to tidy up the tent. It can be done when we pack up to leave.”
John looked at Matt in triumph. “See! She deliberately baited me! It’s her fault she got hit.”
Karina couldn’t take the excuses anymore. Matt’s hold had slackened as the tension drained from the situation, and Karina wrenched free and launched herself at John. Her momentum and weight caused them both to fall to the ground, Karina landing on top. She sat up, straddling him, and punched him in the face, hard.
“You’re baiting me!” She hit him again, harder. “It’s your fault I’m hitting you!” She backhanded him as he tried to block the blows with his arms. “Why can’t you just do what I tell you!” Karina mocked. Matt again had to pull Karina off John.
Sarah started sobbing and threw herself on her boyfriend. “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” she cried. She pushed back his hair and checked his face, worried. His nose bled, and there was a gouge over one eye where Karina’s nail had scraped the skin. Sarah turned to Karina. “Get out of here!” she screamed.
Melissa finished cleaning up the dishes and started cleaning out the fire pit in preparation for the next meal. She still acted as if there was nothing of interest happening.
Matt released Karina. “Yeah. Go. You’re not wanted here.”
Karina looked at the people around her, disgusted. No wonder abuse existed. By not fighting against it or leaving, Sarah was actually consenting to it. And as long as it was tolerated, it would continue. Karina went to the tents and picked up her backpack. Without a backward glance, she left the group.
After Karina left, Matt and Melissa went into their tent to give the other couple some privacy in which to reconcile. Sarah ministered to John. She cleaned the cut and held his nose to stop the bleeding. She continued to cry and apologize, promising to tidy up the tent right away. John let her tend his wounds, assuring her that everything would be all right between them.
“I’m sorry I hit you,” he said, “I won’t do it again; I promise.”
“I know you won’t. And I won’t be so stubborn when you make perfectly reasonable requests. It was partially my fault.”
“I love you, Sarah.”
Sarah was touched by the sincerity in John’s voice. “I love you, too.”
John lay back and closed his eyes, enjoying Sarah’s full attention, secure in his dominance. “You don’t have to clean out the tent right now if you don’t want to,” he told her.
“Oh, but I want to. I should’ve done it in the first place.” Sarah gently bandaged the cut over John’s eye. “Is that better?” she asked.
“Much,” he replied.
Sarah stood. “I’ll go take care of the tent now.”
“Okay.” John sat up as Sarah went into the tent. He poked the dead coals in the fire pit with a stick, breaking them into ash. He heard a twig snap behind him and felt a sting on the back of his neck. His vision swam and he lost consciousness, falling to the ground next to the fire pit.
A few minutes later Sarah emerged from the tent and looked around for John. Not seeing him, she assumed he had gone into the woods to relieve himself. She sighed and sat down on a log. Bored, she picked up a stick and began poking the coals in the fire pit. She heard footsteps behind her.
“Do you want to head to the lake now?” she asked, without turning around. John didn’t answer, so she turned to ask again. There was no one there. She shrugged and turned back to the fire pit. She must be hearing things. She felt a sting on the side of her neck and raised her hand to slap it, hoping she would be fast enough to kill the mosquito. Her hand never completed the arc to her neck as a wave of dizziness overcame her and she fainted, falling face first into the fire pit.
Silence descended on the clearing. Inside their tent, Matt and Melissa noticed the unusual stillness. “What happened to the birds?” Melissa asked.
“I don’t know,” Matt replied. “They were making a ruckus just a few minutes ago.” They crawled out of the tent and looked around. The clearing was empty.
“Where’s Sarah and John?” Melissa asked.
“They must be sleeping,” Matt guessed. “I’ll peek into their tent and make sure everything’s okay.” He stood over the tent and looked through the mesh at the top. “They aren’t in there,” he said.
Melissa looked around worriedly. “Maybe they went for a walk,” she suggested. “You know it’ll be okay. After he’s hit her, he’s very nice to her for awhile afterwards.”
“You’re right,” Matt conceded, “I just wish there was some way to make him change. It bothers me that he keeps hitting her, and it bothers me that she stays with him, but I don’t know what to do. He’s been my best friend for most of our lives, and he never hit girls before.”
“Sarah is his first girlfriend, right?”
“Yes, why?”
“Maybe she isn’t the right girl for him. Maybe he hits her because he subconsciously wants her to leave.”
Matt shook his head. “He told me he loves her more than anything. He would never admit that if it wasn’t true.”
Melissa was silent for a moment, thinking. She looked at Matt and shook her head. “If he really loved her, he wouldn’t hurt her. I think whatever he feels for her, it isn’t love.”
Matt hugged her. “I’m just glad we don’t fight like that.”
Melissa squeezed him back. “Me, too.” They held each other for a minute and then Matt sighed and pulled away.
“I think I should go look for them. They probably went to the lake.”
Melissa brightened. “Of course they did! You go ahead, and take our towels. I’ll make some sandwiches and follow when I’m done.”
“Great! I’ll see you in a bit.” He grabbed their towels off the boulders where they had set them out to dry the day before and left for the lake. Melissa ripped open a packet of tuna fish and emptied it into a plastic bowl. Then she began squeezing tiny foil packets of mayonnaise onto the tuna.